Arun Jaitley files another defamation suit against Kejriwal after Ram Jethmalani calls him a ‘crook’

The senior lawyer had said he used the word against the Union minister on specific instructions from the Delhi CM.

Union minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed a fresh Rs 10-crore suit against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the his lawyer Ram Jethmalani called the finance minister a “crook” in court, reported ANI. The matter is likely to be heard in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. This suit will be additional to the ongoing defamation case against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, which the finance minister had filed in 2015.

During a cross examination in an open court on May 18, Jethmalani is believed to have said Jaitley was “guilty of crimes and crookery”. This did not go down well with Jaitley, who had warned that he would seek “aggravated damages.”

Speaking to India Today, Jaitley’s lawyer Manik Dogra said Jethmalani had said he had used those words specifically on the instructions of his client, Kejriwal. However, the instructing counsel of Kejriwal had denied this last week.

The 2015 case is related to Kejriwal’s allegations against Jaitley accusing the senior minister of wrongdoing when he was the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association. Jaitley had filed a civil and criminal defamation case against Kejriwal and a few other Aam Aadmi Party leaders in 2016. He has also sought Rs 10 crore in damages.

Ram Jethmalani also used the statement 'guilty of crimes and crookery'. Matter likely to be heard tomorrow in Delhi HC.